^^^^  —  1 

5  ' 
MO 

Evl 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


MEMORIAL  and  PETITION 


OF 


JANET  M.   BALDWIN 


TO 


Hon.  Thomas  F.  Bayard 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE 


Henry  N.  Clement,  Attorney  and  Counselor  for  Petitioner 
San  Francisco,  California 


/ 


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O* 


MEMORIAL  AND    PETITION 


*         JANET  M.  BALDWIN. 


To  Hon.  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  Secretary  of  State: 

The  Memorial  and  Petition  of  Janet  M.  Bald- 
win, a  resident  of  the  City  and  County  of  San 
Francisco,  State  of  California,  respectfully  shows : 

i.  That  she  is  the  widow  of  Leon  McLeod 
Baldwin,  deceased,  who  was,  during  his  lifetime, 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

2.      That  the  said  Leon  McLeod  Baldwin  was, 

as  your  petitioner  is  informed  and  verily  believes, 

murdered   by  armed   citizens  of  the    Republic  of 

£    Mexico,  on  the  19th  day  of  August,  1887,  near  a 

2    certain   gold   and   silver    bearing   quartz  mine  of 

»h   which  he  was  at  said  time  superintendent,  known 

as    the    "Valenciana"    mine,  and  situated    about 

0    eight    miles    from    the    town  of  Ventanas,  in  the 

§    State  of  Durango,  in  said  Republic  of  Mexico. 

tr>        %.     That    the    facts   and  circumstances  imme- 
diately  connected  with   said   murder  are  not  per- 
il   sonally  known    to    your   petitioner,  but    are  only 
Q   known  to  her  through  letters  and  correspondence 
received  by  her  as  the  widow  of  said   deceased, 
and  also  by  other  persons,  relatives  and  friends  of 


41081 


said  deceased,  from  reliable  sources  and  from 
credible  persons  in  Mexico,  whose  names  are 
hereinafter  mentioned  who  have  carefully  inquired 
into  the  affair,  and  from  said  sources  and  in  reli- 
ance upon  the  statements  of  said  persons  your 
petitioner  alleges  upon  her  information  and  belief 
that  said  facts  and  circumstances  were  as  follows, 
to  wit : 

That  on  the  said  19th  day  of  August,  18S7,  the 
said  Leon  McLeod  Baldwin  was  engaged  in  his 
business  as  a  mining  engineer  and  superintendent 
in  the  employ  of  Messrs.  W.  W.  Carroll,  Wallen- 
der,  Ward  and  Almy.  The  said  Carroll  and  his 
associates  were  each  and  all  of  them  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  residing  in  the  State  of  Du- 
rango,  in  said  Republic  of  Mexico,  and  were 
sometimes  designated  "  The  American  Company." 
Said  company  was  engaged  in  carrying  on  the 
business  of  gold  and  silver  quartz  mining  near 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  said  town  of  Yentanas  as 
aforesaid,  with  the  full  permission,  and  under  the 
promise  of  the  protection  of  the  Government  of 
Mexico.  That  one  of  the  mines  owned  and 
worked  by  the  said  Carroll  and  his  associates  and 
of  which  the  said  Leon  McLeod  Baldwin  was 
superintendent,  was  the  Valenciana  mine,  situated 
about  eight  miles  by  the  road  from  the  said  town 
of  Ventanas.  That  while  the  said  Leon  McLeod 
Baldwin  was  so  engaged  in  the  ordinary  discharge 
of  his  duties  as  aforesaid,  on  said  19th  day  of  Au- 
gust, 1887,  and  while  he  was  in  the  act  of  alight- 
ing from  the  mule  upon  which  he  had  ridden  from 


said  town  of  Ventanas  to  the  said  Valenciana 
mine,  he  was  suddenly  fired  upon  and  dangerously 
wounded  in  the  right  shoulder  by  two  well  known 
and  desperate  Mexican  outlaws,  whose  names  are, 
as  your  petitioner  is  informed  and  verily  believes, 
Carlos  Martinez  and  Vicente  Besara,  who  had 
screened  themselves  behind  some  rocks  near  the 
mouth  of  a  tunnel  which  led  into  said  mine.  The 
effect  of  said  wound  was  so  serious  as  to  render 
the  wounded  man  incapable  of  using  his  right 
arm,  but  he  succeeded  in  getting  his  pistol  in  his 
left  hand  and  retreating  into  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  which  was  occupied  by  Mexican  em- 
ployees of  the  company. 

The  assassins  at  once  demanded  of  the  miners 
that  Mr.  Baldwin  should  come  out  of  the  tunnel 
and  surrender  himself,  and  said  :  "  We  intend  to 
make  away  with  the  entire  'Gringo'  Company 
[meaning  the  'American'  Company]  one  by  one 
in  the  same  way;  and  unless  you  bring  him  out 
at  once  we  will  fire  upon  you."  The  head  miner 
reported  the  demand  to  Mr.  Bajdwin,  and  he 
sent  him  back  to  inquire  if  it  was  money  they 
wanted,  and  if  so,  that  he  would  see  that  they 
were  paid  any  sum  they  might  demand.  A  par- 
ley then  ensued  between  the  head  miner  and  the 
assassins,  in  which,  the  assassins  promised,  that 
if  Mr.  Baldwin  would  come  out  of  the  tunnel  and 
surrender  himself,  they  would  treat  with  him  on  a 
money  basis  and  do  him  no  harm.  Relying  upon 
their  said  promise  and  supposing  that  he  could 
"regulate"  [negotiate]  with  them,  as  Mr.  Carroll 


—  4  — 

had  done,  'is  hereinafter  set  forth,  he  went  out 
and  surrendered  himself  to  them.  The  assassins 
immediately  ordered  him  to  mount  his  mule.  He 
succeeded  iri  getting  on  the  animal,  but  was  so 
badly  wounded  and  was  so  weak  from  loss  of 
blood,  that  he  could  not  guide  the  animal.  The 
assassins  called  a  boy  from  among  the  miners  and 
ordered  him  to  lead  it,  and  then  departed.  After 
they  had  been  gone  some  time  the  miners  heard 
five  shots  fired,  and,  upon  following  the  direction 
from  which  the  sound  proceeded,  they  found  Mr. 
Baldwin  lying  dead  upon  the  trail,  shot  through  the 
head,  the  ball  entering  his  right  eye,  going  through 
his  skull  and  coming  out  at  the  back  of  his  head. 
They  also  found  a  wound  upon  his  person  which 
indicated  that  he  had  been  struck  with  some  blunt 
weapon. 

4.  Your  petitioner  further  alleges,  upon  her 
information  and  belief,  as  aforesaid,  that  within  a 
period  of  three  months  prior  to  the  occurrences 
above  mentioned,  three  other  grave  crimes  had 
been  committed  against  American  citizens,  em- 
ployed by,  and  connected  with,  said  American 
Company,  the  facts  and  circumstances  of  which 
are  as  follows,  to  wit : 

Connected  with  and  forming  a  part  of  the 
mining  property  owned  by  the  said  W.  W.  Carroll 
and  his  associates,  otherwise  known  and  desie- 
nated  as  aforesaid,  as  the  "American  Company," 
was  a  rancho  in  the  vicinity  of  said  town  of  Ven- 
tanas,  the  superintendent  of  which  was  an  Ameri- 
can, named  Smith.     The  same  persons  who  sub- 


sequently  murdered  Mr.  Baldwin,  as  hereinbefore 
set  forth,  with  other  Mexicans  to  your  petitioner 
unknown,  made  a  descent  upon  the  said  rancho, 
murdered  the  said  Smith,  plundered  the  rancho, 
and  departed  in  perfect  safety,  and  thereafter 
mingled  freely  with  the  people  and  the  constituted 
authorities  of  the  vicinity,  who  made  no  effort 
whatever  to  arrest  them  and  bring  them  to  jus- 
tice. 

The  facts  relating  to  the  murder  of  said  Smith 
and  the  plunder  of  the  rancho,  were  fully  com- 
municated by  the  said  W.  W.  Carroll  and  his  as- 
sociates to  the  proper  authorities  of  Mexico,  and 
an  urgent  request  made  to  send  some  properly 
organized  force  to  afford  protection  to  the  Ameri- 
can residents  and  employees  of  the  company. 
But,  as  your  petitioner  is  informed  and  verily 
believes,  no  adequate  measures  were  taken  to 
punish  the  outlaws  or  prevent  a  recurrence  of 
their  depredations. 

After  the  murder  of  Mr.  Smith  as  hereinbefore 
set  forth,  the  said  W.  W.  Carroll  and  his  asso- 
ciates employed  and  sent  to  their  said  rancho  an- 
other American  citizen,  named  Blanche,  to  take 
the  charge  and  superintendency  of  said  rancho. 
He  too  was  murdered  by  the  same  gang  of  Mex- 
ican assassins,  who,  after  robbing  his  person,  and 
plundering  the  place,  rode  awray  fifteen  miles  to  a 
village  where  they  openly  stated  in  the  presence 
of  the  citizens  and  constituted  authorities  of  Mex- 
ico that  they  had  killed  the  "foreigner"  at  the 
rancho,  called  together   their  friends,  had  a  fan- 


—  6  — 

dango  or  dance,  exhibiting  money  which  they  ex- 
ultingly  said  they  had  taken  from  the  body  of 
their  victim,  and  viciously  announced  their  inten- 
tion of  driving  the  entire  "Gringo"  Company  out 
of  the  coimtr\ . 

The  murder  of  Mr.  Blanche,  and  the  puculiarly 
rravating  circumstances  attending  and  follow- 
in-  it,  were  immediately  and  urgently  placed  be- 
fore  the  Mexican  authorities  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Car- 
roll, who  personally  urged  upon  the  Governor  of 
the  State  of  Durango  that  some  effective  steps  be 
taken  to  punish  the  offenders  and  give  better  pro- 
tection to  the  American  employees  of  the  com- 
pany,  who  were  murdered,  not  alone  for  plunder, 
but  because  they  were  Americans.  The  Governor 
promised  that  he  would  do  something,  but  your 
petitioner  is  informed  and  verily  believes  that  he 
did  nothing,  or,  that  what  he  did  do,  was  weak 
and  ineffective. 

Another  crime  less  serious  in  its  consequences, 
but  equally  flagrant  in  its  character,  was  com- 
mitted by  the  same  gang  of  Mexican  outlaws,  at 
or  about  the  time  of  the  perpetration  of  the  fore- 
going offenses,  upon  Mr.  W'.W.  Carroll,  one  of  the 
said  "American  Company."  Mr.  Carroll,  who 
enjoys  the  reputation  in  Mexico  of  being  a  man  of 
large  wealth,  as  well  as  a  man  of  the  strictest  integ- 
rity, was  waylaid  on  the  public  highway,  while 
traveling  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  of  Ventanas, 
forced,  upon  the  threat  of  being  shot  if  he  diso- 
beyed, to  walk  to  the  top  of  a  high  mountain, 
taken    before   a    "Commandante"  or   Chief,  who 


upon  discovering  his  identity  demanded  the  sum 
of  ten  thousand  dollars  as  a  ransom  for  his  re- 
lease. He  refused  to  promise  what  he  could  not 
fulfill.  The  Commandante  then  ordered  him  to 
.  be  taken  from  the  camp  and  shot.  Finding  him 
firm  and  unyielding  in  his  determination  not  to 
pay  so  large  a  sum,  they  began  to  "regulate" 
[negotiate]  with  him,  and  finally  agreed  to  accept 
the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  in  addition  to  the 
sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  which  they 
took  from  his  person.  He  agreed  to  their  terms, 
was  released,  and  immediately  upon  arriving  at 
his  destination,  remitted  to  them  the  five  hundred 
dollars  agreed  upon. 

5.  Your  petitioner  is  further  informed  and 
verily  believes,  that  a  little  more  than  a  year  pre- 
ceding the  commission  of  the  crimes  hereinbefore 

o 

described  and  set  forth,  a  noted  Mexican  marau- 
der named  Eracilo  Bernal,  and  a  band  of  follow- 
ers, took  forcible  possession  of  all  the  mines 
owned  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Carroll  and  his  associates 
and  demanded  a  tribute  of  ten  thousand  ($10,000) 
dollars,  and  in  order  to  enforce  their  demand  took 
one  Don  Turbucio,  the  Sheriff  of  the  county,  as 
a  hostage.  Mr.  Carroll  and  his  associates  ap- 
pealed to  the  Mexican  Government  for  protec- 
tion, but  protection  was  not  furnished  them,  and 
they  were  forced  to  pay,  and  did  pay  to  said  Ber- 
nal, the  sum  of  ten  thousand  ($10,000)  dollars  in 
monthly  installments  of  two  thousand  ($2000) 
dollars  a  month. 


—  8  — 

That  notwithstanding  said  payment,  Don  Tur- 

bucio  was  shot  in  violation  of  the  agreement  un- 
which  he  was  held,  solely  upon  the  ground 
that  he-  was  "suspected  of  sympathizing  with  the 
Americans."  The  facts  relating  to  this  case  were 
laid  before  the  Department  of  State  by  John  W. 
Twiggs,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  in  October,  1886,  and 
as  your  petitioner  is  informed  and  verily  believes, 
were  transmitted  by  the  Department  of  State  to 
tlie  American  Consul  at  Mazatlan  for  verification, 
and  \  our  petitioner  therefore  refers  to  said  state- 
ment, and  makes  the  same  a  part  of  her  petition 
and  memorial  herein. 

6.  Your  petitioner  further  alleges  upon  her  in- 
formation and  belief,  that  when  the  occurrences 
set  forth  in  the  last  preceding  paragraph  took 
place,  the  said  W.  W.  Carroll  wrote  a  letter  fully 
setting  forth  said  facts,  and  transmitted  the  same 
to  Daniel  Turner,  an  American  citizen  residing  in 
the  City  of  Mexico,  requesting  him  to  place  the  same 
before  the  Mexican  Government  and  ask  for  pro- 
tection. That  said  communication  was  placed 
before  the  American  Minister,  Mr.  Manning,  who 
presented  the  same  to  the  Mexican  Government, 
and  that  he  was  informed  by  the  Mexican  Gov- 
ernment that  "it  had  no  troops  that  it  could  place 
there" 

;.     Your  petitioner  further  alleges  that  the  as- 
anation  of  her  husband,  the  said  Leon  McLeod 
Baldwin,    by    Mexican     outlaws,    was   the   direct 
result  of  the  gross  neglect  of  the   Mexican  Gov- 
ernment  in    failing    to   protect   him    against   the 


—  9  — 

Mexican   prejudice    and    Mexican    hatred    which 
exists  against  Americans  in  that  vicinity  of  Mex- 
ico, where  he  was  peaceably  engaged  in  attending 
to  his  legitimate  business,    under   the  promise  of 
the    protection     of    the     Mexican     Government. 
That  numerous  appeals  were   made  to  the  consti- 
tuted authorities  of  the  county,  also  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Durango,  as  also  to  the  head 
of  the  Mexican  Government  at  the  City  of  Mex- 
ico,   as  hereinbefore  set   forth ;  and   that  no  ade- 
quate attention  was  paid   to  said   appeals.      That 
as  late  as  the  21st  day  of  July,  nearly  one  month 
prior   to   the    murder   of  Mr.  Baldwin,  which  oc- 
curred, as  aforesaid,  on  the   19th  day  of  August, 
the  said  W.  W.  Carroll  applied   personally  to  the 
Governor   of   Durango   for  assistance,  and  while 
promises   of  assistance   were   freely   made,  none 
was   given   until  some  time   after   Mr.  Baldwin's 
murder,  and  then  only  ten    men    were  sent  to  the 
place    of   the    murder.       That   during   the    three 
months  intervening   between   the   murder  of  Mr. 
Smith    and    that    of   Mr.    Baldwin,    no    adequate 
measures  were  taken  to  furnish  protection  against 
the   murderers,  who  openly   avowed  their  inten- 
tion of  killing,  one   by   one,  the  entire  ''  Gringo  " 
[or    "American"     Company;    and    no    measures 
whatever  were   taken  to  bring  the   assassins  to 
justice,  or  to  punish  them  for  their  crimes.     That 
an  absolute  reign  of  terror  existed  in  that  vicinity 
for  a  long  time  prior  to  Mr.  Baldwin's  murder,  of 
which    the  Mexican  authorities  had    full   and  re- 
peated notice,  and  said   authorities   either  feared 


IO  — 

to  interfere  or  were  leagued  in  sympathy  with  the 
murderers.  That  the  constituted  authorities  were 
openly  defied  by  the  murderers,  who  had  at  all 
times  the  undisguised  sympathy  of  the  common 
people  with  whom  they  mingled.  The  assassins 
boldly  stated  to  the  miners,  after  they  had  fired 
the  first  shot  into  Mr.  Baldwin,  and  while  he  was 
striving  to  find  safety  from  them  in  the  darkness 
of  the  tunnel,  that  they  "were  going  to  finish  np 
all  the  Gringos,  one  by  one,  in  the  same  way," 
and,  subsequently,  took  no  pains  to  conceal  their 
whereabouts,  or  their  identity,  from  the  people 
in  the  vicinity,  and  enjoyed  perfect  immunity  from 
arrest  by  the  officers  of  the  county  where  they 
dwelt.  To  such  an  extent  are  the  constituted 
authorities  still  defied,  and  so  formidable  is  the 
reign  of  terror  which  still  exists  there,  that  the 
said  W.  W.  Carroll  and  his  associates  dare  not 
openly  offer  a  reward  for  the  apprehension  and 
punishment  of  the  murderers,  but  appealed  to  the 
said  Daniel  Turner,  a  resident  of  the  City  of 
Mexico,  and  a  brother  in  law  of  Mr.  Baldwin,  to 
allow  them  to  offer  a  reward  in  his  name,  to  avoid 
the  personal  danger  to  themselves  which  they 
apprehended  from  having  their  names  appended 
to  the  otter.  That  for  months  prior  to  the  mur- 
der ol  Mr.  Baldwin,  and  since  said  murder,  the 
said  \\  .  \\  .  Carroll  and  his  associates  and  em- 
ployees  have  been  receiving  warnings  that  their 
movements  were  watched,  and  not  to  expose 
themselves  to  assassination.  So  wrell  aware;  was 
Mi-.   Baldwin  oi   the  danger  that  surrounded  him 


on  every  hand,  that,  before  starting  out  on  the 
tour  of  inspection  on  which  he  was  engaged  when 
he  was  murdered  (and  over  a  month  before  he 
was  murdered),  he  wrote  to  his  wife,  your  peti- 
tioner, to  his  only  son,  Murray  Baldwin,  a  lad 
fifteen  years  of  age,  to  his  friend  Mrs.  Abbie  M. 
Parrott,  a  lady  of  San  Francisco,  to  his  only 
brother,  General  John  M.  Baldwin,  of  the  City 
of  Los  Angeles,  California,  such  letters  as  he 
would  have  written  if  he  had  known  he  was 
going  to  his  death;  and  left  instructions  that  they 
be  transmitted  in  case  he  did  not  return.  Each  and 
all  of  said  letters  have  since  been  delivered  to  the 
said  persons  for  whom  they  were  intended,  and 
in  them  he  bears  testimony  to  the  reign  of  terror 
which  then,  and  for  a  long  time  prior  thereto,  had 
existed,  and  to  the  threats  that  had  been  breathed 
against  the  American  residents.  In  one  of  his 
letters,  written  about  one  month  prior  to  his 
death,  to  his  friend  John  W.  Twiggs,  Assayer  of 
the  U.  S.  Mint  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Baldwin 
says:  "So  extreme  is  the  hatred  of  foreigners 
that  prevails  among  the  people  in  that  vicinity 
(referring  to  Yentanas)  that  to  kill  a  'Gringo,'  no 
matter  how,  is  regarded  as  a  deed  of  prowess, 
and  to  rob  one  elicits  the  covert  approval  of  the 
lower  classes." 

8.  Your  petitioner  further  states,  upon  her 
information  and  belief,  that  no  merely  personal 
motive  entered  into  the  commission  of  any  of  said 
crimes.  That  no  personal  hatred  or  spite  existed 
against  either  the  said    Mr.  Smith,    Mr.  Blanche, 


Mr.  Carroll  or  Mr.  Baldwin,  by  the  perpetrators 
of  the  outrages  against  them.  That  the  said 
Carroll  and  his  associates  do  now.  and  have  al- 
ways, conducted  their  mining  and  other  business 
in  Mexico  in  a  fair  and  upright  manner,  paying 
to  their  employees  ample  and  satisfactory  wages, 
and  furnishing  to  them  a  far  better  class  of  sup- 
plies than  is  usually  furnished  to  miners  in  Mex- 
ico. That  neither  said  W.  W.  Carroll,  nor  any 
of  his  said  employees,  ever  at  any  time  had  quar- 
rels or  personal  altercations,  of  any  character, 
either  with  the  perpetrators  of  said  crimes,  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  or  with  the  consti- 
tuted  authorities  thereof;  but  each  and  all  of  said 
crimes  were  perpetrated  against  the  victims  be- 
cause they  were  Americans,  and  because  of  the 
prejudice  and  hatred  which  existed  against  them 
as  Americans. 

9.  Your  petitioner  further  alleges  upon  her 
information  and  belief  that  numerous  other  out- 
rages and  crimes,  not  hereinbefore  mentioned  or 
alluded  to,  were  committed  against  American 
(  itizens  in  the  vicinity  of  said  town  of  Ventanas, 
within  three  months  prior  to  the  assassinations 
and  crimes  hereinbefore  described  and  set  forth. 
That  among  said  crimes  so  committed  against 
Americans  was  that  against  an  unoffending  Amer- 
ican  citizen  named  Swartwout,  who  was  robbed 
by  the;  same  band  who  perpetrated  the  other  out- 
rages hereinbefore  alluded  to.  Another  American 
citizen  named  Gil  man  sold  and  disposed  of  his 
interest    in    valuable     mines    near    Ventanas    for 


13 


whatever  price  he  could  get,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  leave  the  country  and  avoid  the  reign  of  terror 
which  existed  there. 

10.  Your  petitioner  is  further  informed  and 
verily  believes  that  in  less  than  two  weeks  after 
the  assassination  of  her  husband,  the  said  Leon 
McLeod  Baldwin,  as  hereinbefore  set  forth,  the 
same  band  of  Mexican  outlaws  visited  a  Mexican 
village  named  Duragno,  distant  about  one  day's 
ride  from  Ventanas,  robbed  a  Mexican  merchant 
there,  kidnapped  his  son,  and  captured  and  car- 
ried away  one  of  the  inferior  judges  of  the  village, 
for  the  purpose  of  ransom.  This  outrage  com- 
mitted aeainst  Mexican  citizens  aroused  the  Mex- 
ican  inhabitants.  Then,  and  not  until  then, 
did  the  citizens  (not  the  constituted  authori- 
ties) arouse  themselves.  They  pursued  and  over- 
took the  criminals,  killed  Carlos  Martinez,  one  of 
the  assassins  of  the  said  Leon  McLeod  Baldwin, 
wounded  Vincente  Besara,  another,  and  killed 
also  Esporidon  Morales,  who  had  previously 
threatened  Mr.  Baldwin's  life  for  having  dis- 
charged him  from  one  of  the  mines,  but  who  did 
not,  as  your  petitioner  is  informed,  participate  in 
his  murder. 

ii.  Your  petitioner  further  alleges  that  she 
has  been  advised  by  her  counsel  and  she  verily 
believes  that  if  the  facts  hereinbefore  set  forth 
are  true,  she  is,  by  the  comity  of  nations,  and  un- 
der the  principles  of  international  law,  legally  and 
equitably  entitled  to  demand   from    the    Mexican 


410894 


14 

Government  a  reasonable  and  proper  money  in- 
demnity for  the  loss  she  and  her  son  have  sus- 
tained through  the  culpable  neglect  of  that  Gov- 
ernment, in  failing  to  furnish  protection  to  her 
husband,  the  said  Leon  McLeod  Baldwin,  an 
American  citizen,  against  the  lawless  citizens  of 
Mexico,  after  due  and  timely  notice  had  been 
given  to  said  Government  to  render  such  protec- 
tion. And  she  is  further  advised,  and  she  verily 
believes,  that  one  hundred  thousand  ($100,000) 
dollars  in  gold  coin  of  the  United  States  would 
be  a  just  and  reasonable  sum  for  her  to  demand 
and  receive  as  the  amount  of  such  indemnity. 

Wherefore,  your  petitioner  presents  this  her 
Memorial  and  Petition  to  the  Department  of  State 

i 

and  prays: 

First.  That  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  State 
will  immediately  institute  such  an  inquiry  as  in 
his  wisdom  he  may  deem  advisable  as  to  the  truth 
of  the  facts  hereinbefore  set  forth,  and  that  if  the 
same  are  verified  as  true,  that — 

Second.  The  Honorable  Secretary  of  State 
will  make  such  request,  or  demand  for  indemnity, 
upon  the  Mexican  Government,  as  the  customs 
and  usages  of  nations  require,  and  that  in  case 
such  request  or  demand  shall  not  be  heeded,  or 
shall  be  refused,  that  this  memorial  and  petition 
may  be  transmitted  to,  and  laid  before,  the  Con- 
gress  of  tiie  United  States,  for  such  action  by 
that  Honorable  body  as  it,  in  its  wisdom,  may 
deem  proper,  and — 


Third.  That  your  petitioner  may  be  duly  no- 
tified of  all  steps  and  proceedings  that  may  be 
taken  by  her  Government  in  her  behalf. 

Dated  San  Francisco,  California,  October  6th, 
1887. 

JANET  M.   BALDWIN, 

Petitioner. 
HENRY  N.  CLEMENT, 

Attorney  and   Counsellor  for  Petitioner, 
528  California  Street, 

San  Francisco,  California. 

State  of  California,  ) 

y  ss 

City  and   County  of  San   Francisco,  ) 

Janet  M.  Baldwin  having  been  duly  sworn 
says  that  she  is  the  Petitioner  in  the  foregoing 
Petition  and  Memorial,  that  she  has  read  the  fore- 
going Petition  and  Memorial,  and  knows  the  con- 
tents thereof,  that  the  same  is  true  of  her  own 
knowledge,  except  as  to  the  matters  therein 
stated  on  her  information  or  belief,  and  that  as 
to  those  matters  she  believes  it  to  be  true. 

Janet  M.  Baldwin. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  ^ 
this  sixth  day  of  October,  a  d.  1887.      ) 

Holland  Smith, 

A  Commissioner  for  the  Court  of  Claims  for  the 

State  of  California,  residing  in  the   City  and 

County  of  San  Francisco. 


155o      f 


I  \I\  I  RSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

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4263    Baldwin  - 

petition  of 
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Hon.  Thomas  F.  Bayard,! 


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